Nearly-dead valet startup Luxe has been acquired by Volvo

Luxe co-founders Curtis Lee and Craig Martin (right) will join Volvo in Silicon Valley.
Luxe
Just months after closing its core product and going on life support, valet parking startup Luxe has been acquired by Volvo.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Luxe, which let drivers order an instant valet to meet them at their car and park it, closed its app in April after four years in service.

The startup had raised $75 million in funding at a peak valuation of more than $110 million. As recently as last year, the sight of its valets clad in signature blue jackets and zipping around on scooters, was commonplace in cities like San Francisco. But Luxe struggled to retain the price and convenience expected in a world dominated by Uber.

Volvo will gain Luxe's assets as well as its staff, as part of the carmaker's effort to expand its existing Silicon Valley office, which focuses primarily on building digital products and services. Among its existing digital projects is a pilot program to refuel Volvos on-demand in San Francisco.

In a statement, Volvo said it acquired Luxe for the technology behind the app, such as its "advanced algorithms in the areas of routing, logistics planning and arrival time prediction."

"Our vision is a future in which technology simplifies life so you never have to stop at a petrol station, go to a car wash or even take your car in for service ever again. The acquisition of Luxe is a step towards realizing that ambition," Atif Rafiq, chief digital officer at Volvo, said in a statement.

Advertisement

Luxe CEO and co-founder Curtis Lee is will joined Volvo as VP of digital, while CTO and co-founder Craig Martin will join as an engineer lead, according to TechCrunch.